Monday, July 16, 2007

Orchids are unique plant with various kind of flower, leaf, and their life style. Even Komodo National Park’ area mostly dry, there are more than 30 species of orchids. Most of those orchids life on the mountainous forest i.e. Mount Ara and Mount Satalibo in Komodo Island. Most common orchids that easily could found in low land forest (monsoon forest) is Vanda limbata (picture above). Another orchids that also found in tourism activity area with monsoon forest are 2 kind of Dendrobium orchids (with white and orange flower). The Vanda orchid blossom almost all the time but the Dendrobium orchids blossom only one or two times a year. The white Dendrobium blossom on June, the orange Dendrobium blossom on around September and sometime on January. The pictures below are Disperis javanica J.J.Sm. (top left), the only terrestrial orchid has found in the park, this orchid was found at Bamboo forest on the to Mount Ara; Nervilia sp (top right), the amoebofit orchid, this orchid could be found at Loh Sebita, Komodo Island and at Loh Baru & Loh Dasami, Rinca Island; and Dendrobium sp (bottom) at Mount Ara, Komodo Island.

The mountain orchids mostly blossom only one per year on September or December. Only few of these orchids already identified, such as Dendrobium secundum and at least 4 other Dendrobium species, Saccolabium juncifolium (Bl.) J.J.S. Thrixspermum arachnithes,Pholidota imbricata Lindl., Sarcanthus sp, and Eria sp. Most of these orchids are epiphytic. There are at least 2 species of amoebofit orchids i.e. Nervilia aragoana and another Nervilia sp, that have bulb in the ground, when rainy season the single leaf will appears and after dormant for few weeks it will be blossom on December. Research and information of these orchids and the habitat are very limited. Komodo National Park welcomes anyone who interested with orchids to make a research on it as welcomes with other researchers. The pictures below are Vanda limbata (top left) was found at Loh Liang, Komodo Island; Dendrobium sp (top right) at Loh Sebita, Komodo Island; ana Thrixpermum sp at Mount Ara, Komodo Island.